Conventionally, coupling between two system components is always enabled when two coupling parts, which should establish the connection between the two system components, complement one another physically and form two parts of a unit. This can easily be seen on the basis of a plug-in connection.
However, this criterion is often insufficient, particularly in the field of medical technology. Thus, for example, US 2006/0073048 discloses an irrigation pump with a replaceable tubing set and a control console. The tubing set comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) apparatus in which physical attributes of the tubing set are stored. A control console reads this data and, taking into account further data, makes a decision as to whether the pump together with this tubing set is suitable for discharging the desired amount of liquid. Moreover, the control console can also check whether the pump manufacturer has even approved the tubing set for use with the manufacturer's pump by using manufacturer identification.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,490 likewise describes an irrigation and suction pump with a plurality of tubing sets. The various tubing sets are each only designed for a specific use and encoded appropriately. The pump has corresponding recognition means for reading these codes.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,990 shows a surgical cutting instrument with RFID in the handle for interchanging data between blade and handle.
WO 03/013372 discloses a surgical system with a handle and with accessories that can be attached to the handle. In this case, a chip is also arranged in the accessory for recognizing the accessory.
These known systems successfully avoid incorrect operational settings of the instruments because the system itself selects or at least proposes the mode of operation resulting from the combination of instrument and accessory.
However, should an attempt be made at connecting an incompatible accessory to the instrument, this can lead to physical damage to the instrument, particularly in the region of the coupling element thereof. Furthermore, it is not always ensured that the instrument cannot be used nonetheless.